I made the mistake of taking my 8y/o daughter for a ride (I'd just put the dual seat back on). Now every time I go near it she's jumping up and down "take me, take me, the motor bike yay!" . My one escape has been compromised. Shoulda thought that one thu.

I read this to my wife; I had to do the voice for the quote. It's so sweet, I'd like to put that under my profile...

Inadvertently (how else?) chose the wrong path. It started as an undulating path, along a river. Very amusing riding: up and down, up and down. Then it flattened out and started the muddy patches. So good.At one point the road was slid away. A slope on the left hand side led to a bypass, a single track through the woods, and a slope back to the road. This slope was unreal steep, and down of it: a muddy road, 10' wide, then the river. I took it nevertheless and since I would not be able to climb this slope back, it doubled as the no return point.

Came more mud and slick. Too much for roadriders. I slid once, twice and finally the horse went down on its left side. With effort, feet slipping, back up on two wheels and time for a breathing pause.

Went ahead scouting on foot. Seemed nothing more of the kind and there's a paved road ahead. Saddle up.The road made a turn. There was no connection to that road. And the muddy patches were back with a vengeance: deep ruts, filled with water and slick, on either side.

So I went down, on the right hand side. With the front wheel in a rut. I saw, for the second time today, fresh fuel dripping from the tank. Heaving the bike up was pointless: the more effort the deeper my feet sank in the mud. Off to the forest, find branches to throw in the rut. Got the bike up but with the front wheel still in the rut. Time for a much longer breather.

Another scouting ahead. There were some more rough stretches ahead but they could be bypassed through the forest: a single track through the trees, slippery but doable. It came back on the road for a final challenge: a deep pit with mud on the bottom: once in there would be no way out all by a lone oneself. On the left side a narrow, foot wide, strip alongside a tree leading to safe friendly muddy but firm surface: the final leg of the path.

Wrestling the bullet out of the rut and walking it over the slippery mud to the bypass. There I could mount and ride to the pit. The strip alongside the pit, scary but short. Freedom. Pavement. Damage report. Adventure. I made it.

So ended the first serious test of riding a stock bullet through type 4. My deepest respect for my grandfather and his fellow brethren on wheels who rode such roads daily. Next time I'll take the enduro, or, perhaps, another try on the bullet?

I replaced the battery in my 2011 G5 today with a "Big Crank" ETX15, AGM.It was an exact fit with the positive terminal on the left when it was installed.

The only problem I had was removing the two slotted head screws that hold the outer restraint in place. The dealer had used some thread locking compound that worked better than expected so I ended up with a screw driver bit in a 1/4 inch socket with a 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch drive adapter driven with my torque wrench to get them loose.

My Royal Enfield never ceases to surprise me.When I finally got the battery out I found that the two hex head bolts that attach the battery box to the frame were both very loose. In fact one was ready to fall out.Some blue Locktite thread locking fluid and retightening the bolts got things back together again.

Over the past two years of riding, the hexagon heads on these bolts had been eating the backside of my battery! I'm just damn lucky the battery case was thick enough to withstand this nibbling without leaking acid all over my bike. (see picture below)

that filter is meant to be oiled. K&N sells the oil and cleaner at the auto parts store. The filter will keep out boulders and small animals without it, but if you want to keep the finer stuff out, get the oil! That is the oil that turns the filter red on the picture.Bare

that filter is meant to be oiled. K&N sells the oil and cleaner at the auto parts store. The filter will keep out boulders and small animals without it, but if you want to keep the finer stuff out, get the oil! That is the oil that turns the filter red on the picture.Bare

wrong. You really should trust people more.This is a synthetic filter made by K&N that is colored red and comes with instructions that say NO OIL.